captioned by closed captioning services, inc. captioned by closed captioning services, inc. education, it is the key to success in american life, everybody knows that. but after decades of reforms af and counter reforms, what have we really learned?eaed? good evening. i'm tucker carlson and this is fox news reporting. is fo according to the educationthe department, since 1980 we spent a trillion federalsp dollars on public schools, yet l the u.s. still doesn't make s the world's top 10 for literacy in. 2009 fox news reporter dove into the world of textbooks, asking if youox know what your children are really reading.xtbook this time we bring uh snapre shot of american education to tell you what is actuallyam going on in schools like this one. schools we'll tell you what is being tri tried, what is being scraped fia and what the final grade is

likely to be. america's ultimate naturalltima resource is itste children. and when it comes to education i from the elementary level to to college, this nation finds itself at a turning point. >> we know the country and they will outcome pete ustomorr tomorrow. >> we are all beingimed intimidated and put through hell.>> >> we need to remain here ande o beheld accountable for what happens. >> i spent 130 for my french book, but when i sold it io only got $40. >> this is a white america andsn hispanics don't exist.ve >> we have to concentrate onuden the students, but not on the beurocracy.nt res >> we want results! we wanthe results! >> in the end the future of

our country depends oneducat education. ou >> the goal of this administration is to ensuret: t that every child has access tott a complete and competitivea education.mplete and >> over the past 30 years,edion. president after president has pa labeled education one of thent most important tools for this country's survival. >> all of this money, billions of dollars, have gone intountry' improving public schools. and it seems like that has been for not. why? >> i wouldn't say it has been be for not. the public schools represent the community's responsibilityo to education its children. >> what makes public education difficult in this country is edu that we have a popular culture that is deeply is anti-educational. and many parents don't takeucat. responsibility for theirts children, and many students have no moat -- motivation. >> there is motivation in the lone star state. battleground texas round two.

in 2009, fox news reporting rtin coverage of the state board education had a heated debate. >> somebody has to stand up to experts. >> this is a fox news alert. hello, any moment now we expect to hear from the american hiker who spent 13 long months inside an iranian prison. share raw shored is -- sarah shourd is her name, and she is about to hold a news conference at her hotel. she arrived back in the u.s. this morning after stopping off in oman. she leaves behind, however, her fiancee and their friend. booth -- both are being detained in tehran. it is a charge that they and the u.s. government deny. the three americans insist they were simply hiking along the iraq-iran border, and if they crossed into iran they did so accidentally. shourd was freed on tuesday

after they poked a $500,000 bail, the source of which has not been disclosed. let's listen. >> i would like to introduce everyone. nora? >> after 410 days in a prison, sarah is free at last. i am filled with joy and relief that my daughter is home, but my heart is still heavy with sadness that shane and josh are still in prison. i share sarah's gratitude to the many governments and individuals who have worked so hard for their released. i also want to thank the media for your concern for our children. above all i want to thank my sisters cindy and laura, who stand here with us today to share in our joy.

cindy and laura, you have been my rock and i will be yours too. yesterday was my birthday, and i have received the greatest gift of all. but cindy and laura are still waiting for their gifts. and this is why i applaud the humanity that set sarah free and i cry encore u.-- encore! encore! it is time for shane and josh to come home too. we will not stop until they are home and we hillary double our efforts to -- we will redouble our efforts to get them out. thank you. >> welcome, everyone, and thank you so much for being here. i want to begin by again expressing my sincere thanks to the government and religious leaders of iran. my gratitude goes out for my

compassionate released from detention. it is my deepest hope that the world will not let this humanitarian gesture by the iranian government and judicial branch go unrecognized. i believe this decision is a step in the right direction for all of us. above all, for my fiancee, shane, and my dear friend, josh. i will forever be grateful for his untiring commitment to our case and the warmth at his people's welcome. when i stepped out of the plane into that beautiful country, the caress of the sweet, fragrant breeze was a promise. a promise that shane and josh's suffering too will end. i also want to thank the american people and our government and people and governments all-around the world who have advocated for

our released and supported our families for the last 13 months. lastly i want to extend our gratitude to our lawyer for his tireless work on our behalf. and to my friend of switzerland for his support and continued engagement. getting on the plane in tehran was one of the most memorable and important moments of my life. but this is not the time to celebrate. my disappointment in not sharing this with shane and josh was crushing, and i stand before you today only one third free. that was the last thing josh said to me before i walked through the prison doors. josh and shane felt one third free at that moment, and so did i. the only thing that enabled me to cross the gulf from prison to freedom alone was the knowledge that shane and josh wanted with all their heart

for my suffering to end. they showed nothing but joy at my release and that more than anything is testimony to the self-lessness and beauty of their spirits. i had many concerns while i was in prison about my health and thankfully the doctors in oman have reassured me that i am physically well. as we say in arabic -- praise be to god. shane and josh do not deserve to be in prison one day longer than i was. we committed no crime. we are not spies. we in no way intended any harm to the iranian government or its people and believe a huge misunderstanding lead to our detention and prolonged imprisonment. shane, josh and i had no knowledge of our proximity to

the iran-iraq border when we were hiking at a popular tourist site frequented by local families in iraqi cur daw stan -- kurdistan. if we were near the iran-iraq border, the border was unmarked and inextinguishable. though my friends and i never intended or chose to go to iran, the tragedy of our imprisonment has forever marked our destinies. i never in my worst nightmare imagined i would be a prisoner. i nef saw it coming, and i never knew my family would have to suffer like this. i also want to be clear that i do not in anyway blame the iranian people for the pain our peoples and friends are suffering. i found iranians to be a diverse and generous people

defined by their fervent worship of god, their noble islamic values. like all of us they love their families and they want to live in peace. at the time of our arrest, we were working in the middle east and living in damascus, syria. shane, my fiancee, is a courage and international and talented journalist. i taught english to iraq we and palestinian refugees and syrian nationals. josh is anennvironmental teacher who arrived in syria as our guest less than a week before our arrests. after leading the study abroad program about global health challenges, our humanitarian work in different areas is what attracted shane and josh

and i to each other and laid the foundation for the strong relationship the three of us enjoy. my hope is that by learning who we are and how we came to be in this diverse and fascinating region of the world directly from my lips, it will help clear up any doubts and end shane and josh's de detention. i intend to talk about these issues more in the days and weeks ahead because it is time to clear up the misunderstanding that lead to our imprisonment. i also officially believe that now is the time to make the world a little safer for everyone through peace and dialogue. i believe that our tragedy is an opportunity for americans and iranians to realize that an improved relationship would be in the best unit for all

people. my hope is in our own small way, shane, josh and i, as individuals, can help begin to build a bridge between our two countries and cultures. i walked out of prison with my spirit bruised, but unbroken. and i am more determined than ever that shane and josh, god willing, will soon walk out the same way. my life begins the day that i go to pick them up, the day that all three of us can be reunited with our families with the prison walls far behind us. >> my work is cut out for me and i need all the help i can get. i need everyone who cares about shane and josh's freedom to please stand behind us now so that we can make this final

push for their freedoms together. i also ask the governments and people of the world, please help in the process of cooperation and bridge building at this crucial time. please help us create an atmosphere of goodwill in the world. please help us free shane and josh. thank you very much. >> do you have a message for your fiancee? >> no, thank you. >> hugging her mother, sarah shourd is now free and back on american soil. however, her fiancee and her friend is still being held by the iranian government accused of spying which they deny. shourd called it a huge misunderstanding saying we

committed no crimes and we are not spies. the three were hiking along the iran-iraq border and claimed if they crossed into iran, which they claim was unmarked territory, it was accidental. in the meantime, perhaps not by coincidence, the president of iran, only din gnaw god, arriving to attend the united nations general assembly down the street from this hotel. in an interview he called on the u.s. government to respond to his gesture of releasing shourd by releasing iranians that he claims are wrongfully held in this country. you may recall in december iran released a list of 11 iranians he says are in american custody. y woo -- we will have lots more on this story at the top of the hour. i will be with us and jewel de banderas. right now, we return to a special fox news investigative report. >> part of l.a.'s unified l

school district was 670,000tric students. it was one of those schools s that the super inen it dent put put on notice. >> i visited fremont four or five times.ont there was never a sense ofwa urgency, and that's not acceptable with me. n >> in december of 2009,-- heea released 5* restructuring plan for fremont. it included turn around. the teachers are not happy. hap >> they want everyone who works at fremont high tohi reapply for their job at what ft they are calling "the newe fremont."we >> we had been assured that we were on the right track in our reform effort.mr.tina none of those reforms wereght ever teacher driven or driven be by the parents. >> that's not true. s that a copout. i gave them a year to give me a plan to show them that theywkg were working on the issues, tooe have some progress, and they

didn't. >> 5,000 students is a ridiculous as far as trying to make major improvements. >> the teachers are tired of ar taking the blame. perhaps three quarters of us not are not reapplying for a job at at fremont. >> so be it.taff i hillary staff the school. -- i will restaff the school. >> while the teachers arebeing blamed for the woes, here in los angeles we were never given the ability to runabil school programs.sing >> he is a using a model in the constitution never proven ss to be successful anywhere. our preference would have beenve to call us to sit down, discuss the issue and come up i with a joint plan that made a jt sense for fremont. >> while fremont's future remains uncertain, the stakes were high in february when the fate of 36 current underurrnt

performing and new schools wasaw in the hands of the l.a. board of education. >> the people have chosen! the people have chosen! >> this is a bi-product of the school board majority that tfuses to do their job which is that sustain what istodo positive in public education. pv they decided they can't do. it so they will give schools away. >> the recommendations to the board were --ndns >> give away schools to outside entities. or award them to teams of t of teachers and parents who put a together school plans. >> ♪ everywhere we go ♪ people want to know ajorif >> a majority of the schools were taken over by outside withe groups, in some cases in support of the teacher iewnen c whys. sch only four will become charter schools. >> when i ran chicago public schools, i opened, but closed some. only the best of the best should be able to open aperm

charter school. you have to give these educators an economy. you have to free them from the beurocracy. schools should over time be phased out that don't. >> the fact remains that more me traditional public schools area failing and failing faster schls than charter schools. >> i have been here for 15en years. we have a dedicated staff. it was never about money.money. >> it is not just about curriculum. it is not about more time and parent engagement. it is about all of those things. >> closing schoolss. and makings the remaining schools muchchools stronger academically isac unquestionably the right thing to do. >> the plan to remain here and d remain accountable for what happens. >> the school is under pe performing. perhaps you have to close dowpn the school and the kids have to go somewhere will. gomewher that's impossible in some of our areas of alaska.f there is no other school.las a operation like that, no child left behind, doesn't work. >> why close a school entirelye

rather than trying to improve it? >> it is far too passive to let these things happen. year after year if there are0 20 students in a freshman class and you can look around the class and say 10, 12, 15 of you won't graduate, won't be with us four years later? how can we allow that to be? t >> rap music in math class?usicn that's right. and history too. we'll tell you why when fox news reporting continues. >> tr:

if you are interested ind what your kids are learning, you might want to know about this educational approach. it is called "flo-cabulary. >> they do believe students m

can learn more with rap music. e >> i had a hard time when i was a student when i was in school. i was struck then with how easy it was for me to remember f lyrics to songs, and how hard it was for me to remember things that i needed to foremthn school. tak >> flo-cabulary takes what they are asked to learn andds put them in original rapal songs. >> on the other side of the globe the mountains rise and the deserts stay dry. >> the idea behind it is it is extra extraordinarily easy to remember the lyrics to your favorite song. fate >> in 2005, harrison andrisonnd rappaport up ped their firstacki album, putting 500 vow cabunes. words in the tunes. realized >> we can effect more change if we made products we sold

directly to the schoolold district. we made theto change three ort. four years ago.n are now we are seeing larger district adoptions. >> now in 12,000 i schools across the country, teachersoss are rapping and not just to english, but history, sciencengi and even math.but history >> can you give me an example of a math rap?me an >> one times 4 is probablyab board because one times 4 is four. and then in the second verse the rapper pauses.s. >> 2 times 3 is, 6. >> the kids have a chance to respond to say the facts before the rap every -- p says raier says the answer. it is so much about medical raw memorization. when we are doing ancientb egypt or u.s. history ord science concepts, that's when the writing -- it puts more wng demands on our creativity jie. n we signed a distribution agreement -- >> they refused to reveal thecln details of. it but the textbook giant had no commentiat

to fox news. >> the appeal was if ours. products were bundled with the textbooks they would get into bd every class m roo.ld >> with the dropout rate oftuckw five and a half percent, clinton city schools spent $2,500 for flocabulary'spr. history program. >> it is an after school studyig and we want to provide anleag alternative learning strategy. >> when i first discovered flo-cabulary i thought, oh my sh go, i know they didn't go there. this will get the kids' thought attention. they will like it. it is relatable, relevant andit all of that. and it is just what we need inst order to create the kind of paradigm shift we need thate will make learning fun, accessible and nonintimidating.

>> does it promote standard english? >> we may take a few liberties where we have humor or people speak differently, and so toeak try to completely ignore that would be a mistake., w we want children to learn standard english. >> but standard english is theti real measurement. >> in no way we say everything i in your life you should be w doing by rapping.rything in y >> have you thought abouty doing the same thing with country music or opera or punk? >> ♪ >> we thought about trying itout with all kinds of music.sic. one of the reasons we love rap e so much is that rap has so many words packed into one song. >> there is no independent there third party study that proves ittu works, many believe it does. flocabulary is used by aned estimated 300,000 students. hip hop is known for pushingor the envelope, and not always in a good way.

racial rhetoric, vulgarity,cend sex and violent images and lyrics permeate much of rap. so how do education willalmeateo rappers keep it real.>> >> we are trying to take the violence out of the music. arsts the artists reach out to us to because what they realize whatuh we are teyrying to do is workorh with kids directly and do do something that is across the board positive. >> i do music as a hobby and i thought this was a perfect opportunity to bring it to the classroom. >> the artists, do they haveheya educational backgrounds?edu >> some do.nd we have worked with artists that were tutors and have wh worked with students. >> have you had any complaints by parents or teachers?p >> i can list the complaints we have had on one or two comp hands.r it happens, but it is very,penst very rare. very >> i wonder why it takes hip tue hop to get certain students g engaged in learning? it never has, why does it now? >> i think the bigger idea is using something that students are interested in, has a ha connection, and rip hop is one

of thols -- those things. >> is technology improving education or a distraction? and find out how thousands ofhoh teachers are i can making aou ta profit outside the classroom. pt find out on fox news reporting.

the classroom has come a coe long way since the chalkboard.k. billions are being spent on o high-tech gadget retop electronic white boards that

can cost up to $3,000 and m can prays where families can gdes an monitor grades at home and. on-line. >> it is called i parents for parent. >> and students it is calledt i-student.he >> the traditional learningesk. environment. >> is a person buying a desk. is the motivator fair andesk square? kids will learn. >> 1900 miles south of alaska, nestled in beautiful napa n county, california is nap paw h. new -- napa new technology high school. it is the flagship for the new work.or 40 schools in nine states, anine group that is changing the way n a classroom works.lass >> you are not seeing rows and f rows of desks and the teacher t isn't the performer in ther the front. what they are being is guided and coached and a problem solver. the classroom should reflect the work environment.ir.

>> here project-based learning>: is the prefered method of teaching. learn students learn by working on aeh project by themselves, with a partner or with groups. >> it is doing experimentsk hands on to see how it works. some questions remain. >> the academic content will be embedded in the project. >> if you are not really in r tune with what the teacherwi hopes you are thinking about teh as you are doinger the activityt you are not going to remember it.ta it takes special type of teacher to view these vods. >> the cost of people ranges from $700 to a thousand more. but the school does have the highest standardized testhe scores in science, english and history. and all 370 students have sents their own computers at school.o >> because we have that, the reo

teachers are required -- requiring a more rigorous k curriculum. >> how important is technology in education?ortantis >> technology has potential. but the problem is you don't give someone an internet connection and all of a sudden they understand how to educate themselves.ly >> nobody could do their jobcatl without a computer. c if you are a hotel clerk you use a computer. if you are an auto mechanic, computers plug into engines. it is fundamental literacy in the 21st century.al >> another change in 21st century education, teachers turning a profit by selling b their lesson plans on-line. one of the websites is called we are teachers .com. >> i had a vision of whatis would happen if we somehow could give the best teachers a megaphone? we are teachers is the social media website and it provides an opportunity for teachers to find the best high quality

materials, resources, grants, ml et cetera.ces, >> another website, teachers pay teachers .com created inrspr 2006 now has a quarter million a registered users. >> whatever teachers create they can sell to otherachers teachers for a modest price.tear on average $2 to $3. >> teachers looking for fresh had whys are coming to the website. >> over a million dollars of io lesson plans have been sold onbs teachers pay teachers. >> when i first thought of it, it was an e bay of teaching.ve o >> you don't make any money on that website, that can be aw lot of time thinking aboutng kids you are paid to teach. >> teachers starting their

lesson plan increases thee value of what teachers can do.tr teachers who buy are becomingtes better teachers. beer >> who owns the right toucker: teacher-created lesson plans?ts and should school districts get a cut of the profits?be >> communities pay teachers. schools pay teachers. p there are plenty of opportunities that involve sharing their work with otherhei teachers either face-to-facehe or on-line. face- but there is no money involved. >> what teachers do on. their ts own time as long as theow district is not payingay themover time is probably fair : game.oming u >> don't mess with tpexas as the debate rages in the loneeb star state.

this is the moore family. >> luke is the old oldest. daniel is the aspiring genius and abbie is the princess. caleb is quite the thinker. zeoy is two years old -- zoe is two years old and the queen of the castle jie. four attend public schools in owe december saw, texas, the second largest state in the union. population, 24 million. one day in 2009 their fifth grader, caleb, came home from school and said this -- >> we need you to help us. memorize the declaration of independence. >> we hold these truths self-evident that all --ar >> people are created equal?

the original document says "men." >> as a mom it upsets me.>> a any misrepresentation is an injustice. >> i said, that's not right. and he said that's what theyhe taught is at school. >> he turned into his alter ego, captain watchdog. e >> my activist has grown out of seeing the world through the kids' eyes. o you have to speak up and saythe this is not right. ey >> he did.you ve t he filed a official complaint and then went to austin whereved the texas state board of state education braced for finalbr approval of its curriculum currm standards. >> chapter 113, texas>> cer essential knowledge and skills. >> it is time for us to wake up and see what we are doingup to our kids.ke joi >> joining him were hundreds of protesters, media, lawmakers, parents and a record number of citizens to address the board's 15 elected members, five democrats and 10 republicans.10 many called on the board to on e delay final adoption. >> what our texas students are s

taught is not to be the hande may den of our political i'd yule gist.ur -- i'd yule -- ideologist.taught >> people care what their kids are taught. >> what we are talking about in all this is the essential knowledge and skills. >> the final document will be a blueprint for textbook publishers and outline what a every public school student inoe the lone star state is expected to learn. >> students build a foundation a in geography, economics, emics government, citizenship. >> it is a k-12 standard. >> and 4 foot 7 are being shielded and that's the number we are impacting. be >> i failed. >> failed what?aile >

my history test.>> >> let me see that. a whole chapter on selina? sena. what are the chapters on the alamo. >> the outcome of thistcom showdown will be rememberedembe and resonate throughout thete nation for the next 10 years.tir >> no question about it that the publishers will take what we do here and will show up in a every state. >> traditionally texas andcifor california drive the textbookxtk market.et. it behooves publishers to payay close attention to the standards. they are out to make a profit ot and the state board ofrd education through the curriculum standards has told them what the customer wants.e they have to provide that.ntthey >> lately, texas' time honored nationwide ripple affect has come under scrutiny.d >> it is becoming less true today as the rise iny.

technology and the open source materials make dissemination a i lot quicker.e >> but the printed textbookr. market is still worth a whooping $9.5 billion.ill texas alone has appropriated 465 million this year. and while the three largest publishers are ready for business in the lone star state, they declined our requests for interviews.c >> they listened to what wet said. >> we will move to our nextting. section. >> in march, he said he was instructed not to talk to the tk media.e in may we returned to uh stip.tn for three days our cameras captured 30 hours of hors discussion as board members a ba continue to grapple over a seemingly basic question, whaton do we want the next generation t of americans to learn?'t >> we shouldn't be here cherrye picking. suld >> as you are about to find out, there is nothing simple sp. about it. >> the originals were written by committees that consisted

of teachers and content specialists. >> the state boardli of education. >> and then a point of what teyc they call expert reviewers.we with the expert reviewers weiewe will make our recommendations and then the state board ofstat education will vote on whatlle n changes they want to make. and in history you have different interpretations. one person's view will be a little different than someonette else. >> they are at the core of the democrats versus itse republicans. >> so many people don't knowoplt what jefferson davis did. >> confederate generals? this is unacceptable.ptable >> seven including donbe mckilroy are part of a block that critics allege are impose their religious values. >> the voted block very seldom breaks away from one another.mpn and you create the impression that you are very interested in having your idea reflect it, and then you are looking at objective data. data.

>> in 2009, the board tackled science standards. th the evolution debate was front e and center. >> i'm an apologetic creationist.ible >> all eyes were on mckilroy, then chairman of the board. >> it has been 100 years and there are still problems. people say we injected creationism in the curriculum.l. if you read them, you can seesth we didn't.d >> my colleagues are adept atre spinning matters and you have at to read between the lines to t get at the true meaning.e >> he has since been ousted as chair and recently lost the b republican primary. he will serve through januaryri. 2011, long enough to leave aing lasting impression.is ro >> aunre thereer amendments, mr. allen?endm >> on day two patience was>> t wearing thin. the board already quibbled forub 10 hours and lawrence allen lawe motioned to add causes of theedo civil war to an 8th gradel w

history standard. >> the member wanted it to read "slavery and state's rights." >> i would like to amend that ik to include sectionalism.nclude >> we don't have to beat around the bush.to it is all about slavery. i support mr. allen'slavery. language. allen's >> all those in favor of the word "sectionalism, states' rights and slavery"?igh the amendment carries.ry? >> no sooner did the board vote allen down tempers flared. allen wanted to strike wordingrg that required w students to study jefferson davis' inaugural address alongside- abraham lincoln. >> slavery is not mentioned at all. >> let's present history as it happened. >> it pushes theas idea that slavery was not a main issue. >> to put it on equal footing and put it before abraham, i lincoln i don't think isorre correct. >> you can put the ideas con intad in jefferson davis inson s the front.ont. you can put it i cn the back.yon you can put him where the sun te

doesn't shine. >> allen's amendment failed again.>>ker: al >> i know we are tiredle and hungry. tired d >> hour 13 of the texas showdown, allen gives italle another shot.ot. add barack obama's name to ancka existing standard noting in which the first black president was elected.president >> i would like to insert the name hussein in between barack b obama, giving theet honor andma. privilege of his full name. >> we have ronald reagan or john f kennedy and what youjf. k are doing is pretty obvious. >> you are grining and it is very derogatory and very badmas. manors. >> i am asking you to withdrawtw your motion. >> put an end to the whining. >> withdraw the emotion. motion. >> after a night of explosive debate, barack h obama as added. ju previously the board changeddra democratic republic to constitutional republic in reference to the u.s. government.otom capitalism is now free

enterprise, but there were more changes to be made. t on the third day, cynthiaick dunbar kicked off the meeting in prayer. >> i believe> the entire bill of rights came to being because of the knowledge ouredge fore fathers had of the bible and their belief in it. >> turns out that was a directat quote from a 1954 prayer given a by none other than liberal icon and supreme court justice earl warren.icearl dunbar made her point and set the stage for the politicalhe discord that turned into asce th national spectacle. the founding fathers, religion and the issue of separation of church and state. >> we need the students to compare and contrast some of cna this current view of separation of church and state d with the first amendment.t. >> this is -- there is no such thing as the legal doctrine of f separation of church and of state. sta >> and the phrase " enlighten meant" ideas from john calvin i and insert thomas jefferson. >> adding thomas jeffersoninjefr

back in is fine. adding enlighten meant ideas is not. >> bring thomas jefferson back in. we had it right.we t >> i cannot support the de cann lesion of john calvin. if we can reach an agreementif e it would be most expeditious. >> this is embarassing.io. >> thomas jefferson was addedff back to a lites of names in aa now modified strand on political philosophy. >> there is no further debate. the question now is final adoption. >> these books, we don't want to read these.ant >> my gosh.y they deal with emphatic and emphatic issues and we sound like germany. s >> consider we have put in more minority figures than ever before.more fig >> i would not support this d travis stey. >> i am proud to have my namey. on this document.y >> this thing belongs in the trash. >> the board passed a k-12 bd standard along party lines12 with one republican absent. so what happened to the $35 tt textbook in odessa? the publisher told us, quote,

a new edition of this book was released, and that page was removed. rve >> i think it is great our kids are learning to be pro l active and to know a publisherbr had to replace textbooks because of an error that a fifth grader found. g >> when we return, fox news we n president aring goes to reing college. >> this semester i paid about $500. >> can you believe what some students are paying for bel textbooks? we will take you onts campus to find out if they aree? getting their money's worth.

college. some people call it the bestsom four years of yourca life. that could be less true with every passing year.ng the price of getting a degree sky rockets. >> we continue to expect colleges and universities to do their part to hold downir tuition increases. d >> the insurance companies get hauled up and bo rated in the

nation by your administration,nn but no one is doing that toet college.rof >> people are going to figureg out where they are getting ripped off and where they get>> an opportunity. >> the family will prepare themselves for the highpre for t tuition cost. we made it a priority.st. four kids in college at once,ri my dad had on a teacher's salary. my i would stay home for a semester if i had to to work to pay for my next semester's tau -- tuition. more power to me and others like us in the real world who had to work their way through ct college. >> look what it costs now. i hear these astronomical figures, 20, 40, 50,000 and up. >> reporter: -- >> 2004 the twiep-2010 school year billions of financial aide was available. almost 2/3 of the nip teen 2/3 million students in higheron education received some form ed of that aide. f with the good comes the bad.. >> across the country, theaverau average student graduates with

$23,000 in debt.,0in >> are all of you going to berea in debt when you graduate? dt wn >> yes. you >> we sat down with nine fox news interns all in or down recently graj graduated from college and you can tad about the rising costs.collecly collect cively they spent $700,000. >> i am covering myov last two years in student loans. $20,000 a year for each year and then that's plus housing and plus the interest rate. >> part of the debt comes from the prices of textbooks. >> the highest i spent one semester was $800. >> how much did you get back? >> probably about $250. that semester i refused to buyes books. i was paying close tobu $500ng every semester for books. >> some professors will put pes the book on reserve at the library. >> how much do you is a of? >> i avoided buying three>> t textbooks. >> but it can be wrong. we looked at klum -- columbia ve

university's' professor, uh author of "the unfinished nation." it was finished in 2008, but way off on the number of suspects charged with terror-related crimes since>> 9/11. >> only one such suspect was ever charged with a crime. that it is not correct. s >> at least 129 suspects were not only charged, but convicted of federal prore related crimes when that edition was published.mewhen we asked if he planned toion wa correct the mistake. he responded to fox news this way, quote, the unfinished nation will appear in a new edition later this year. you can judge for yourself atear that point how it treats the issues."t how well, that new edition was released last december. reld a list of suspects convicted had grown to at least 523. but the section in question in this latest version was nown deleted. we asked professor brinkly for an interview.in he declined. decned. we also asked why the section was emitted in the 6th edition.omit his replay?

, quote, i almost always reduce coverage of very recent f history. the length of the book must say constant and because recent history is written with more detail. and as timece goes by, some of the detail seems unnecessary. what may be unnecessary is the price. last december fox news bought pron-line for $86. u with everything that goes into achieving a college online degree today, the questio remains, is it worth it? >> it will be worth it if i get -- when you get a job. i will also have to be working'm and doing smk like waitressing so i can make the pay back ofay my loan.backs >> if you stick your mind to it and keep running the race rae it is worth it. >> last semester we had a lot lt of furlough days because ofu the cutbacks.ecau and i feel like i am notcutbac getting the time with learning i all they are teaching. of feel i feel i am paying all this money for nothing.

as you have seen tonight,>>: american education stands at the crossroads.ic at lag country continues to behind much of the developedouni world in basic educational categories. countries like japan,countr l australia, south korea, now soua out perform the u.s. in reading, math and science. yes, shote schools, bad teacherswho can't be fired andae in effective beurocracy are to u blame, but there is anotherbl factor.her every expert mentioned family. t whether or not you are a parent reall have a stake in educatin